Some “traditional” seniors may currently be planning a career in business or journalism, but Janie Stolar ’08 already has a bright future ahead of her and it is chock-full of Bar Mitzvah dancing, eating vegetarian food in far-off lands, and helping her cats take over the country.
Annalee: After being a Wesceleb interviewer yourself last year, how do you feel about being on the other side?
Janie: I feel great. Here’s why: I feel like the WesCeleb is like, stardom within Wesleyan and if you peak too soon you’re a child star and it’s just downhill from there. So, I feel like I’m peaking at the right time. I’m gonna graduate on top.
A: This is the beginning of stardom! Let’s talk about Lunchbox. You’re one of the stars…
J: The star.
A: Right. How long have you been acting for?
J: Since Lunchbox. Since the last two and a half years. And I’m sure people can’t tell from my stunning performances, but um, I really just auditioned to write and they’re like, “You’re gonna act.” So it’s been crazy. It’s something I didn’t expect to do. But it’s awesome and the people are really fun.
A: What’s your most memorable Lunchbox moment?
J: It was probably a character I did called “Full Mouse” where I was a mouse that had eaten too much cheese and lived in San Francisco with her uncles and the Olsen Twins.
A: Oh…oh, I get it!
J: It was a double entendre and I think people really appreciate pop culture/animal reference combination, I think that should be explored. Also, any time I can dance, I appreciate and I think the audience appreciates it as well.
A: I heard you last week on the radio talking about the celebrity gossip on “Don’t Cry for Me, Angelina” [a WESU show with Elissa Gross ’08]. Are you gonna come back?
J: I hope so, it’s so much fun. And it’s surprising, we get calls, which is really weird because I didn’t think anyone was listening. Some old woman called, she’s like [in an old lady voice], “Did you hear that Brad is cheating? I saw that in Star at the grocery store.” I was like great, start this dialogue! I guess the point of the radio station is to reach out to the Middletown community and we do that…in destructive ways.
A: Yeah, I guest-hosted the show a lot last year and one time this guy called in and asked us how to correct his penile dysfunction.
J: He should go on Loveline.
A: So you watch a lot of TV I’m told, especially reality TV shows. If you had your own reality TV show, what would it be about?
J: I’d want a travel show! Me traveling, eating…hanging out.
A: Where’s the first place you’d go?
J: Amsterdam. In Amsterdam they love cats. They celebrate the cat. And then there’s vintage clothing and bicycles and vegetarianism and canals and art and Jews. And I’m like, hi, you just described me!
A: Speaking of cats, I heard you like them a lot. No, love them. How did this feline obsession begin?
J: Well, I’m from a cat home. My parents were cats—no, they were cat lovers. My mom said that I used to have one of those baby swings and the cat would walk in, just minding its own business and I’d just flip out! Like electrocuted from the energy that I got from the cat. But I really love cats, I feel like they’re these cute, loveable, fuzzy, asexual things…they’re just so innocent and uncorrupted by our horrible society.
A: I heard that your cats have Facebook accounts.
J: They do! So one of them, Frankie, the Siamese cat, she got found by Facebook and they disabled her account. So, I had to make her a new one. They said, “Cats aren’t allowed on Facebook.”
A: That’s ridiculous.
J: Yeah, but they enjoy updating their Facebook profiles and their pictures. It’s a good way for me to stay in touch with them.
A: Your cats are also pretty politically active. One’s a Republican and the other’s a Democrat?
J: Yeah, they are running for President. Eve is a republican. I know at this school that doesn’t go over well, but I still feel like she’ll put America on the right track. And Frankie’s a democrat. They really have good ideas. They don’t really understand what it means to run, but I feel—Frankie is the product of inbreeding and she has crossed eyes. People don’t really like her as much as they might like Eve who’s very social and jovial and overweight. I do think they have a good shot, but it’s hard for them because they’re cats. They’re debates are usually like [bats her hands about like two kittens fighting].
A: And lastly, what do you want your Wesleyan legacy to be? If in 20 years someone buys a building and dedicates it to you, what do you want it to say?
J: One, “The girl who drops things a lot” is like, really accurate, painfully accurate. So I think [that]. [Also] “She falls sometimes,” and thirdly, “Her voice annoys people sometimes.” So, if those three things are how I’m remembered, it might not be the most shining portrait, but it would be so accurate.
Leave a Reply